Remote controller data download system using a internet and its method

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a system and method for downloading remote control data using the Internet. In the system and method, a server unit is provided with remote control data, a user selects required remote control data through a client personal computer and a remote control code transmitting system, and the selected data is transmitted to a remote controller in a wired or wireless manner. In accordance with the present invention, the user can appropriately utilize a single remote controller for various apparatuses.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a system and method for downloadingremote control data for various apparatuses to a remote controller usingthe Internet so as to allow a single remote controller to be used toremotely control the various apparatuses.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, remote controllers that are a kind of wireless controldevice are used to improve the convenience of end users who useapparatuses to be remotely controlled. The remote controllers are widelyused to wirelessly control home appliances, office machines, etc. atplaces somewhat remote from the apparatuses. Recently, with thedevelopment of the electronics industry and semiconductor manufacturingtechnology, research and development have been performed to provideremote controllers having broader and more various functions.

However, since in a conventional remote control device and method, aremote controller is provided for each of apparatuses and the apparatusis controlled by only the corresponding remote controller, a new remotecontroller should be purchased or a user should manually manipulate thekeys of the apparatus when the remote controller is lost or breaks down.

In order to overcome the conventional remote control device and method,there was proposed a so-called integrated remote controller in whichcontrol data for various apparatuses are set and which allows variousapparatuses to be remotely controlled therethrough.

However, the second remote control device is problematic in that generalusers cannot use the second remote control device because a control datasetting method is complicated.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is proposed to solve the aboveproblems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the presentinvention is to provide a system and method for downloading remotecontrol data using the Internet, which is capable of accessing a serverhaving remote control data for various apparatuses via the Internet,downloading required data from the servers to a remote controller in awired or wireless manner and setting the downloaded data in the remotecontroller.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention providesa system for downloading remote control data using the Internet,including a server unit (10) having remote control data; a clientPersonal Computer (PC) (30) processing the remote control data; a remotecontrol code transmitting system (40); the Internet (20) connecting theserver unit (10), the client PC (30) and the remote control codetransmitting system (40) to each other; and two remote controllers (50and 50′) connected to the system in wired and wireless manners,respectively; wherein the server unit (10) includes a database server(11) having the remote control data for apparatuses to be remotelycontrolled and performing responses and data transmission with respectto various requests, an authentication system (12) connected to thedatabase server (11) to perform user authentication, and a billingsettlement system (13) connected to the database server (11) to updatebilling information of users; wherein the client PC (30) includes afirst interface unit (31) requesting the server unit (10) to transmitthe remote control data through the Internet 20 and receivingtransmitted remote control data, a temporary storage space (32)temporarily storing the received remote controller data, a data analysisunit (33) determining a transmission method of the remote control data,and a second interface unit (34) transmitting the remote control data ina wired manner; wherein the remote control code transmitting system (40)includes a third interface unit (41) receiving transmitted remotecontrol data through the first interface unit (31), a temporary storagespace (42) temporarily storing the received data, and a fourth interfaceunit (43) transmitting the stored remote control data to the remotecontroller (50′) in a wireless manner; wherein the remote controllers(50 and 50′) each include a terminal (51) connected to the client PC(30) in a wired manner to receive the remote control data, ortransceiver unit (54) receiving the remote control data from the remotecontrol code transmitting system (40) in a wireless manner, a controlunit (52) converting the transmitted data into data in a requiredmanner, and a storage unit (53) storing the data converted by thecontrol unit (52).

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention providesa method for downloading remote control data using the Internet,including the Ist step of a client PC (30) requesting remote controldata, which is selected by a user to download, from a server unit (10)through a first interface unit (31); the 2nd step of the client PC (30)undergoing user authentication in the server unit (10); the 3rd step ofthe client PC (30) receiving remote control data transmitted from theserver unit (10) in response to the request through the first interfaceunit (31); the 4th step of the client PC (30) temporarily storing thereceived remote control data in the temporary storage space (32); the5TH step of the client PC (30) determining whether the remote controldata is transmitted in a wired or wireless manner through the use of adata analysis unit (33); the 6th step of the client PC (30) transmittingthe remote control data to a terminal (51) of the remote controller (50)through a second interface unit (34) if it is determined that the datais transmitted in a wired manner; the 7th step of the remote controller(50) receiving the remote control data from the terminal (51); the 8thstep of the remote controller (50) converting the remote control datainto data in a required manner; and the 9th step of the remotecontroller (50) storing the converted remote control data in a storageunit (53).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the construction of a system fordowning remote control data using the Internet in accordance with theembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view showing the construction of a server unit in accordancewith the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the construction of a remote control dataprocessing unit in accordance with the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a view showing the construction of a remote controller inaccordance with the embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. SA to 5C are flowcharts showing processes of downloading requireddata to a remote controller using a client PC; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of directly downloading requireddata to a remote controller.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the attached drawings below.

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the construction of a system fordowning remote control data using the Internet in accordance with theembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing theconstruction of a server unit in accordance with the embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the construction of a remote control dataprocessing unit in accordance with the embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 4 is a view showing the construction of a remotecontroller in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the system for downloading remote control datausing the Internet in accordance with the embodiment of the presentinvention includes a server unit 10 that has remote control data andperforms user authentication, billing, etc., an Internet 20 thatconnects the server unit 10 to a client Personal Computer (PC), a clientPC 30 that is wirelessly connected to remote controllers, communicateswith the server unit 10 via the Internet 20, and allows the selection ofrequired remote control data and the downloading of the data to a remotecontroller, a remote control code transmitting system 40 that receivesremote control data selected by a user from the server unit 10 andwirelessly transmits the data to the remote controller 50&APOS;, and aremote controller 50 or 50′ that can download the remote control dataselected by the user through the client PC 30 in a wired manner or theremote control code transmitting system 40 in a wired manner and set thedata therein.

The remote controller 50′that can download the remote control data in awireless manner includes a mobile communications terminal with a remotecontroller function. The mobile communications terminal is a generalterm for devices having a mobile communications function, such as ageneral mobile phone, Personal Digital Assistant, etc.

The remote controller 50′ that can download the remote control data in awired manner may include the function of the client PC 30. In this case,the user accesses the server unit 10 via the wireless Internet, selectsdesired data and downloads the desired data through the remote controlcode transmitting system 40 through the manipulation of the remotecontroller 50′.

Accordingly, when the user of the remote controller 50 or 50′ selectsdata required for an apparatus to be operated from data stored in theserver unit 10, the selected data is downloaded to the remote controller50 or 50′ through the client PC 30 or remote control code transmittingsystem 40 in a wired/wireless manner and set in the remote controller 50or 50′, so the user can utilize the remote controller 50 or 50′ as aremote controller for the apparatus to be operated.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the construction of the server unit 10 thatincludes a database server 11, an authentication system 12 and a billingsettlement system 13.

Referring to FIG. 2, the database server 11 has remote control data forvarious apparatuses using remote controllers, such as televisions,videocassette players, audio systems, air conditioners, etc., andperforms response and data transmission with respect to transmittedvarious requests through the client PC 30 or wireless remote controller50′.

The authentication system 12 is connected to the database server 11, andperforms user authentication to allow only authenticated users todownload data and transmits authentication results to the databaseserver 11.

The billing settlement system 13 serves to receive billing informationfrom the database server 11, and update the billing information ofusers.

Depending upon an embodiment of the present invention, theauthentication system 12 and the billing settlement system 13 may not beemployed.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the construction of a remote control dataprocessing unit included in the client PC 30 and the remote control codetransmitting system 40. Referring to FIG. 3, the remote control dataprocessing unit includes a first interface unit 31 that transmits arequest for the downloading of desired data and user information to theserver unit 10 through the Internet 10 through the manipulation of theuser and receives data in response to the data transmission, a temporarystorage space 32 that temporarily stores the data, a data analysis unit33 that analyzes the data stored in the temporary storage space 32 anddetermines whether the data is transmitted to the remote controller 50in a wired manner or to the remote controller 50′ in a wireless manner,and a second interface unit 34 that transmits the data if it isdetermined that the data is transmitted to the remote controller 50 in awired manner, wherein the data analysis unit 33 requests the server unit10 to transmit the remote control data to the remote control codetransmitting system 40 through the first interface unit 31 if the it isdetermined that the data is transmitted to the remote controller 50′ ina wireless manner. The remote control data processing unit furtherincludes a third interface unit 41 that is included in the remotecontrol transmission system 40 and receives data transmitted from theserver unit 10, a temporary storage space 42 that temporarily stores thedata, and a fourth interface unit 43 that transmits the stored data tothe remote controller 50′.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, theremote controller 50′ may includes the first interface unit 31 and thetemporary storage space 32. In this case, the remote controller 50′ mayreceive remote control data that are selected through the communicationsof the fourth interface unit 43 with the first interface unit 31.

In the above-described case, the first interface 31 includes a Webbrowser that is daily used on the Internet and a Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP) browser that is used in mobile communications terminals.A line that connects the remote controller 50 with the client PC 30includes a Universal Serial Bus (USB).

FIGS. 4A and 4B are both views showing the construction of the remotecontroller that can be used in the above-described system fordownloading remote control data. Referring to FIG. 4A, the remotecontroller 50 includes a terminal 51 that allows the remote controller50 to be connected to the client PC 30 through a line, a control unit 52that analyzes the transmitted data and converts the data into data in arequired manner, and a storage unit 53 that is connected to the controlunit 52 to store the converted data, along with elements contained in aconventional remote controller, including a key input unit thatgenerates a control signal according to the selection of the user, aCentral Processing Unit (CPU) that includes an infrared code generatingmeans for receiving the control signal and generating a predeterminedinfrared ray code and controls the entire system, and an infrared raysignal generating unit that receives the infrared ray code from the CPUand inputs an infrared ray signal corresponding to the infrared raycode.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the remote controller 50′ in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention includes a transceiver unit51 that can wirelessly transmit and receive required data to and fromthe server unit 10 and the remote control code transmitting system 40, acontrol unit 52 that converts received remote control data into data ina required manner, and a storage unit 53 that stores the converted data.In the case where the remote controller 50′ is a mobile communicationsterminal having a remote control function, a conventional mobilecommunication terminal module is added to the remote controller 50′,along with elements contained in a conventional remote controller,including a key input unit that generates a control signal according tothe selection of the user, a CPU that includes an infrared codegenerating means for receiving the control signal and generating apredetermined infrared ray code and controls the entire system, and aninfrared ray signal generating unit that receives the infrared ray codefrom the CPU and inputs an infrared ray signal corresponding to theinfrared ray code.

Accordingly, the user of the remote controller of the present inventioncan easily download required remote control data using the system of thepresent invention and use it. Methods of downloading remote control dataare different depending upon where the remote control data is downloadedto the remote controller in a wired or wireless manner. The processes ofthe two different methods are shown in FIGS. 5A and SB, respectively.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart showing a process of downloading selected data tothe remote controller 50 connected to the client PC 30 in a wiredmanner. This process is described with reference to FIG. SA below.

The client PC 30 accesses the server unit 10 through the first interfaceunit 31 and requests remote control data selected by the user from theserver unit 31 at step S510, undergoes user authentication in the serverunit 10 at step S520, receives data transmitted in response to therequest through the first interface unit 31 at step S530, and stores thedata in the temporary storage space 32 at step S540. Thereafter, theclient PC 30 determines whether the data should be transmitted to theremote controller 50 or 50′ in a wired or wireless manner by analyzingthe remote control data stored in the temporary storage space 32 throughthe use of the data analysis unit 33 at step S550. The case where theremote control data is transmitted to the remote controller 50′ in awireless manner is described in detail in FIG. 5B. In the case where theremote control data is transmitted to the remote controller 50 in awired manner, the data is transmitted through the second interface unit34 connected to the remote controller 50 in a wired manner at step S560.The remote controller 50 receives the transmitted data through theterminal 51 at step S570, and thereafter analyzes the received data andconverts the received data into data in a required manner at step S580.Subsequently, the remote controller 50 stores the converted data in thestorage unit 53 at step S590.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart showing a process of downloading selected data tothe remote controller 50′ in a wireless manner. This process isdescribed with reference to FIG. 5B below. In the case where the remotecontrol data is transmitted to the remote controller 50 &APOS;IN awireless manner, the server unit 10 is requested to transmit the remotecontrol data to the remote control code transmitting system 40 throughthe first interface unit 31 at step S551. The remote control codetransmitting system 40 receives transmitted data through the thirdinterface unit 41 at step S552 and temporarily stores the data in thetemporary storage space at step S553. Thereafter, the remote controlcode transmitting system 40 wirelessly transmits the data stored in thetemporary storage space 42 through the fourth interface unit 43 to theremote controller 50′ at step S554. Steps after step S554 are identicalwith steps S570 to S590.

FIG. 5C is a flowchart showing the user authentication step (step S520)in the server unit 10 in detail. Referring to FIG. 5C, the databaseserver 11 receives authentication information from the client PC 30 atstep S521, and transmits the received authentication information to theauthentication system 12 at step S522. The authentication system 12analyzes the authentication information at step S523, and transmitsanalysis results to the database server 11 at step S524. The databaseserver 11 determines whether user authentication is successful based onthe received analysis results at step S525, and the process proceeds tothe next step if the user authentication is successful.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of directly downloading controldata using a mobile communications terminal having a remote controllerfunction in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.This process is described with reference to FIG. 6 below.

The remote controller 50′ accesses the server unit 10 through the firstinterface unit 31 and requests remote control data selected by the userfrom the server unit 31 at step S610, and the server unit 10 performsuser authentication and transmits at step S620 and transmits remotecontrol data to the remote control code transmitting system 40 at stepS630. The remote control code transmitting system 40 receives thetransmitted data through the third interface unit 41 at step S640, andstores the data in the temporary storage space 42 at step S650.

Thereafter, the remote control code transmitting system 40 wirelesslytransmits the data stored in the temporary storage space 42 through thefourth interface unit 43 to the remote controller 50′ at step S660. Theremote controller 50′ receives the transmitted data through thetransceiver 54 at step S670, analyzes the data and converts the data ina required manner using the control unit 52 at step S680, and stores theconverted data in the storage unit 53 at step S690.

In the above-described case, the remote controller 50′ having downloadedthe data may be connected to the general remote controller 50 with aline and transmit the data to the general remote controller 50.

In accordance with the above-described processes, the user can easilydownload required remote control data to the remote controller and setthe data in the remote controller.

As described above, in accordance with the present invention, requiredremote control data can be automatically downloaded to and set in theremote controller via the Internet without a complicated remote controlsetting process for the conventional integrated remote controller, sothe remote controller of the present invention can be easily andconveniently used as a remote controller for an apparatus whose controlis desired.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention can be applied to a system and method that is ableto download remote control data for required apparatuses to a remotecontroller via the Internet so as to allow a single remote controller tobe used for a variety of apparatuses.

1. A system for downloading remote control data using the Internet,comprising: a server unit (10) having remote control data; a clientPersonal Computer (PC) (30) processing the remote control data; a remotecontrol code transmitting system (40); the Internet (20) connecting theserver unit (10), the client PC (30) and the remote control codetransmitting system (40) to each other; and two remote controllers (50and 50′) connected to the system in wired and wireless manners,respectively; wherein the server unit (10) comprises a database server(11) having the remote control data for apparatuses to be remotelycontrolled and performing responses and data transmission with respectto various requests, an authentication system (12) connected to thedatabase server (11) to perform user authentication, and a billingsettlement system (13) connected to the database server (11) to updatebilling information of users; wherein the client PC (30) comprises afirst interface unit (31) requesting the server unit (10) to transmitthe remote control data through the Internet 20 and receivingtransmitted remote control data, a temporary storage space (32)temporarily storing the received remote controller data, a data analysisunit (33) determining a transmission method of the remote control data,and a second interface unit (34) transmitting the remote control data ina wired manner; wherein the remote control code transmitting system (40)comprises a third interface unit (41) receiving transmitted remotecontrol data through the first interface unit (31), a temporary storagespace (42) temporarily storing the received data, and a fourth interfaceunit (43) transmitting the stored remote control data to the remotecontroller (50′) in a wireless manner; wherein the remote controllers(50 and 50′) each comprise a terminal (51) connected to the client PC(30) in a wired manner to receive the remote control data, ortransceiver unit (54) receiving the remote control data from the remotecontrol code transmitting system (40) in a wireless manner, a controlunit (52) converting the transmitted data into data in a requiredmanner, and a storage unit (53) storing the data converted by thecontrol unit (52).
 2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein thesecond interface unit (34) of the client PC (30) is connected to theterminal (51) of the remote controller (50) with a universal serial bus.3. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the remote controller(50′) is a mobile communications terminal having a remote controlfunction.
 4. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the remotecontroller (50′) further comprises: a first interface unit (31)requesting the server unit (10) to transmit remote control data andreceiving transmitted remote control data; and a temporary storage space(32) temporarily storing received remote control data.
 5. A method fordownloading remote control data using the Internet, comprising: the 1ststep of a client PC (30) requesting remote control data, which isselected by a user to download, from a server unit (10) through a firstinterface unit (31); the 2nd step of the client PC (30) undergoing userauthentication in the server unit (10); the 3rd step of the client PC(30) receiving remote control data transmitted from the server unit (10)in response to the request through the first interface unit (31); the4th step of the client PC (30) temporarily storing the received remotecontrol data in the temporary storage space (32); the 5th step of theclient PC (30) determining whether the remote control data istransmitted in a wired or wireless manner through the use of a dataanalysis unit (33); the 6th step of the client PC (30) transmitting theremote control data to a terminal (51) of the remote controller (50)through a second interface unit (34) if it is determined that the datais transmitted in a wired manner; the 7th step of the remote controller(50) receiving the remote control data from the terminal (51); the 8thstep of the remote controller (50) converting the remote control datainto data in a required manner through a control unit (52); and the 9thstep of the remote controller (50) storing the converted remote controldata in a storage unit (53).
 6. The method set forth in claim 5, whereinthe 6th and 7th steps are replaced by the following steps, if it isdetermined that the remote control data is transmitted in a wirelessmanner at the 5th step: the 5-1ST step of the client PC (50) requestingthe server unit (35) to transmit the remote control data to the remotecontrol code transmitting system (40) through the first interface unit(31); the 5-2nd step of the remote control code transmitting system (40)receiving the remote control data transmitted from the server unit (10)through the third interface unit (41); the 5-3rd step of the remotecontrol code transmitting system (40) storing the transmitted remotecontrol data in the temporary storage space (42); and the 6-1st step ofthe remote control code transmitting system (40) transmitting the storedremote control data to the transceiver (54) of the remote controller(50′) through the fourth interface unit (43) in a wireless manner. 7.The method set forth in claim 5, wherein the 2nd step further comprises:the 2-1st step of a database server (11) receiving authenticationinformation from the client PC (30); the 2-2nd step of the databaseserver (11) transmitting the authentication information to theauthentication system (12); the 2-3rd step of the authentication system(12) performing user authentication using the authenticationinformation; the 2-4th step of the authentication server (12)transmitting authentication results to the database server (11); and the2-5th step of the database server (11) determining whether userauthentication is successful based on the transmitted authenticationresults.
 8. A method for downloading remote control data via a mobilecommunication terminal having a remote control function, comprising: the1st step of a remote controller (50′) requesting remote control data,which is selected by a user to download, from a server unit (10) througha first interface unit (31); the 2nd step of the remote controller (50′)undergoing user authentication in the server unit (10); the 3rd step ofthe server unit (10) transmitting the selected remote control data to aremote control code transmitting system (40); the 4th step of the remotecontrol code transmitting system (40) receiving the transmitted remotecontrol data through a third interface unit (41); the 5th step of theremote control code transmitting system (40) temporarily storing thereceived remote control data in a temporary storage space (42); the 6thstep of the remote control code transmitting system (40) transmittingthe remote control data to a transceiver unit (54) of the remotecontroller (50′) through a fourth interface unit (43) in a wirelessmanner; the 7th step of the remote controller (50′) receiving thetransmitted remote control data through the transceiver unit (54); the8th step of the remote controller (50′) converting the received remotecontrol data into data in a required manner through a control unit (52);and the 9th step of the remote controller (50′) storing the convertedremote control data in a storage unit (53).
 9. The system as set forthin claim 3, wherein the remote controller (50′) further comprises: afirst interface unit (31) requesting the server unit (10) to transmitremote control data and receiving transmitted remote control data; and atemporary storage space (32) temporarily storing received remote controldata.